She also has a brand spanking new writing desk and laptop, complete with a few souvenirs from Egypt.

Catherine has been getting along nicely with Danger, and got up to Best Friends Forever status with him in no time.

For all intents and purposes, she’s basically his mommy.

Even if Brienne does try to steal his heart every time my back is turned.

Brienne: I am doing no such thing! The texture of his snout is most pleasing, that’s all.

Brienne is so taken with Danger, in fact, that she builds a whole barn for him.

The upper section gets turned into a home gym, though.

Brienne: What? It’s not as though we’re unable to afford it.

This is true. The Gallant family funds have been hovering at a more-or-less steady 50,000 simoleons.

Jared: Hey kid, I’m on my way to work. Think you could clean up these dishes?

El: *stare*

Jared: Orrrr, you could not. That’s always an option too.

Between work, school, changing Bedivere’s diapers, and keeping the new horse fed and watered, no one in the household has time to clean up after themselves. Well, El does, but she’s…less than willing. Brienne has always been attached to the idea of the Gallants being a self-sufficient family despite their wealth, but she’s also attached to the idea of not living in a house that smells like dog pee, so she calls up a maid service.

Not that the maid actually does a whole lot.

Maid: Mm, this is delicious! You don’t mind if I grab another of these, do you?

Jared: Are you completely, one-hundred-percent sure we couldn’t have just bought a roomba?

Maid: Nah, my company bought out Roomba Inc. and destroyed them all to keep a cleaning service monopoly.

Jared: I’m pretty damn certain even a smashed up robot would do a better job than you are.

Maid: Hey!

Even thought the repairmen and women of Sunset Valley are much more reliable than the maids, Brienne still pushes forward with her insistence on playing handyman every time something spontaneously breaks. Surprisingly, hitting something a few dozen times with a hammer proves to be a pretty effective way to get it to stop leaking everywhere.

Christmas Snowflake Day arrives, and the Gallants throw a little party.

And by ‘little’, I mean they invite everyone they know.

In retrospect, this was kind of a shitty idea, which I realized as soon as I had a traffic jam at the present pile.

I also forgot just how volatile some of this family’s relationships are.

Connie: Outta my way, lame brain! We all know you’re daddy’s little princess, but that doesn’t mean you get to hog all the presents to yourself.

Catherine: At least I’m not wearing a mismatched Victorian outfit like some kind of, some kind of townie! Yeah!

Leo: Boo! Someone needs to take you to burn school!

After the gift-giving, for some reason everyone went upstairs to watch Leo play piano? Dude’s got depths, I guess.

And then it was time for Bedivere’s birthday!

He’s pretty cute, in the way a newborn bird or a hairless cat is cute. He also picked up the neat trait, making him neat, disciplined, and cold-loving.

That same night…

Danger: I LIIIIVE!!!!

Catherine wastes no time in clambering up onto his back.

Catherine: Nothing to it! I really don’t get what all the fuss is about!

She’s not a high enough level rider to train for racing yet, so instead she just lets Danger do whatever he wants and holds on for dear life.

Danger: Sweetheart, did I ever mention that I have the fast trait?

Catherine: …

Catherine: This was a mistake.

MA’AM PUT A DAMN COAT ON

Maid: No.

WHY???

Maid: Because fuck da police.

A mighty soldier has fallen.

El: NOOOOO, GIBSON! Why couldn’t it have been me? WHY COULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN ME?!

Catherine: Come on, El, you never even liked the little guy.

Catherine: NOOOO, GIBSON, WHYYYYY…

Jared: Hey, distraught grieving daughter who has only just discovered the reality of mortality! Think you could maybe budge over so someone can get past you?

Catherine: *sob*

Bedivere: Hey, Catherine?

Catherine: Yes, you’re a very fast horsey aren’t you! But Mommy needs you to slow down a little, okay? … What is it, Bedivere?

Bedivere: Umm, well…I was thinking, and…How come I don’t look like you and El?

Catherine: Uhhh. Well, Bedivere, Mom and Dad wanted to wait until you’re a little older to tell you but, I guess if you’re asking about it it’s okay? Oh gosh. Wow, where to start-

Bedivere: I’m adopted, right?

Catherine: …Huh?

Bedivere: I heard some of the teachers talking about it. They said I was from somewhere else and Mom and Dad adopted me when my real parents died.

Catherine: Oh, haha yeah! Of course, adopted, right! You’re such a smart kid to have figured that out on your own, Bedivere! I’mgonnarideawaynowbye!

Bedivere: Ok, bye.

Bedivere: …

Bedivere: *sigh* I wonder if this is what my real parents look like?

Catherine: Remember what Mommy said about not being fast Danger?!

Catherine: REMEMBER??!!!

Danger: YEE-HAW BITCHES!!!

Sort-of keeping to my schedule, woot! (Side note, this chapter title should just be the name of my blog.)

Aah, Connie continues to be herself. Grumpy bastard.(zing!) And the maid really is quite useless, although I’m tempted to keep her around just for the yucks.

I haven’t documented them on camera, but rest assured that danger is indeed glitching up a storm. Every time Catherine tries to interact with him he does this little soft-shoe number back and forth FOR NO REASON!!! Oh how I suffer for my art. *sniff*

Speaking of glitches, I can’t tell if Bedivere is glitched or not? I didn’t notice while he was a baby or toddler, but he NEVER makes any noise. Like, at all. I know there’s some bugs with adult voices not being adjusted for child sims so they’re mute until they hit YA, so I’m hoping it’s just that and not a perpetual eerie silence to haunt me for the entire time he’s in the story.

Thanks for reading, love you all, etc! Hopefully I’ll have another chapter up within a few days, but if not I will definitely try to keep to the once-a-week schedule.(Here’s hoping anyway!)

Inji: You foreigners are very odd. In any case, thank you for the photograph.

Day 3

Her sister somehow managed to scrounge up enough turquoise for Catherine to turn in that mission, so she moves onto the next step of schmoozing with some townspeople to get info on MorcuCorp. She’s never heard of them back in SimNation, but apparently they’re a big deal here in Egypt.

When I checked in on El, I found here hanging out with Inji again, trading friendly hugs back and forth non-stop.

Alright then.

Catherine: Ismael, it was so cool! It was, like, an ancient tomb, and- What? Yeah, of course there were mummies! Big ones! I had to run for my life!

At some point that dishonest streak is going to bite her in the butt, but not today. Ismael is overjoyed at the news of occult activity, and grills her for information to add to his notes.

As soon as the girls get back, it’s time for Brienne’s birthday bash.

It goes about as well as expected.

Jared: WHO WANTS A PIECE OF THIS HOT ELDER ASS?

‘Deadpan Dancing’ is the new viral challenge.

He in no way has earned the right to give Catherine that judgmental look.

Blair: Part of me wants to ask, but the other part says I’m better off not knowing.

The actual ‘birthday’ part of the party goes off without a hitch.

Brienne: I would like to ask why you find the need to study in my stepson’s nursery, but I fear I would not care for the answer.

Ismael: I’m sorry, ma’am. It’s just that Bedivere is simply fascinating; there have of course been studies on the effect of Twinbrook’s peculiar radiation on it’s citizens, but I’ve never seen such a strong reaction in someone so young! If I could only run a few tests-

Brienne: And it appears I was right. I don’t care for the answer. Kindly get out of my house.

This picture speaks for itself.

Catherine finally gets permission from her mother to make the phonecall she’s been waiting for for a long, long time.

This little foal is the newest member of the Gallant family! His name is Danger.

Catherine has zero actual experience with real life horses, so she went with calling him what sounded to her like an intimidating racehorse name.

Not the most promising of introductions.

He is pretty darn cool-looking, though.

WHO’S ALMOST A WEEK OVERDUE FOR AN UPDATE CERTAINLY NOT ME HAHAHA

Err, sorry about that. School got a little hectic for a while and I didn’t have the energy to make myself write up a chapter. Whoops.

That little glitch you see up there with Danger is only the beginning, trust me. I don’t know why I decided to give my heir a story revolving around horses, I really don’t. (Sims 3 horses and Mac graphics do not mix well.)

So, Catherine is officially the Generation 2 heir! Thank you to everyone who voted(all 4 of you, lol), and everyone else still reading!